Finding the silver lining
by LilMissNerdfighter
Summary: The war is over and Hermione should be helping people, but the memory of a certain Slytherin is preventing her from focusing.


**A/N I'm not actually sure what this is. I was in the middle of writing the third chapter of 'Safe Haven' and really had to write this. I'm very aware that it sounds as if Hermione hasn't managed to grasp the concept of time, but I didn't write the clichés. ****I suppose I chose to put them here, so sorry about that. Sorry for any rhyming too. ****Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Have a nice day!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, I don't own.**

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_Their lips met, again and again, and the world spun. They sat cross legged on the floor, fingers intertwined, laughter echoing around the sunlit room. Their eyes met across the Great Hall, speaking of promises and a lifetime of happiness. Notes passed silently in class, fingers brushing in the corridors, sweet nothings disguised as insults. Stolen kisses, the sharing of secrets and an unspoken agreement to make the short time they had together last forever. They had thought-hoped- that it would never end. That they could stop time._

_Then, there was fire and green light everywhere. He fell behind as she screamed. So many regrets. She never told him she still loved him, no matter what. Tears streaming down her face as the fire engulfed the room below her. The fallen in lines. Harry dead. Draco vanished. Ron kissing her. It was so wrong. Never ending chaos. War lasting longer than the peace ever had._

_Harry waking up. The kiss ending. Draco still missing._

_The war had ended._

Hermione had broken down in an empty classroom, as the rest of the world tried to mend itself. She couldn't ask where Draco was, no-one knew what they had been, and she had to avoid Ron at all costs. She could not deal with him trying to snog her again. How could he not see that she loved Draco? Wasn't it blindingly obvious? And didn't her reluctance to kiss Ron, show that she really didn't think of him in that way? Merlin, he really was stupid sometimes. Hermione knew that she should be helping the others, tending to the wounded and trying and help those whose family were gone. Everyone had lost someone.

Hermione was fully aware that she was being horribly selfish, but she didn't care. She didn't know how to leave the classroom and revert back to her former self. She wasn't sure how to stop herself tearing through the castle, trying to find Draco. She knew that she had to go and become a soldier once more, but in order to do that she had to shut off the part of her brain that was hell bent on scouring the castle for Draco. And she couldn't. Hermione had told herself for so long that she would be allowed to be with Draco once the war was over, and that had subdued the voice in her brain screaming for her to abandon the Horcrux hunt and go to him. It wasn't healthy for such a voice to be present in her mind- and the fact that it was quite dominant made it even worse. Now that she had allowed herself to think of finding Draco, she couldn't turn her attention to other matters.

_You're not going to be able to help yourself, let alone anyone else in this state_, the voice told her, sounding a lot like Madam Pomfrey. Unfortunately, Hermione was completely aware that the voice was right- and really, who was she to argue with a Healer? Pulling the activated Marauders' Map, which she had 'borrowed' from Harry, from her pocket, Hermione began to run. He was in the Astronomy Tower, and alone.

A very long five minutes later, Hermione found herself at the Tower door. Only then, did it occur to her that Draco mightn't actually want to see her. Maybe, he hated her and despised the memory of their time together. Maybe it had all been a ploy to weaken the Golden Trio. Hermione was appalled to discover that the thought of this almost winded her. She had helped defeat Voldemort, for Merlin's sake! She was a Gryffindor, brave and more than a little bit reckless. She wasn't going to let 'boy issues' be her downfall. Summoning every little bit of Gryffindor courage that was left in her, she pushed open the door.

Draco was standing with his back to her, by the window, the moonlight illuminating the room. He looked so much older than she remembered, and at the same time completely lost. Hermione was filled with the overwhelming need to give him a hug. He hadn't heard her enter the room, or if he had, he was ignoring her.

'Draco?' she breathed, moving towards him. He whirled round to face her, a disbelieving smile spread across his face.

'Hermione?' he whispered, pulling her into a tight embrace. 'Merlin, I missed you!'

'You did?' she squeaked. Draco pulled away slightly, and cupped her face with his hands.

'Of course I did- I thought you knew everything?'

'I do, I was just checking' Hermione smirked, loving the sound of Draco's laughter echoing round the room.

'I love you'

'I love you too'

As a new day dawned, they stayed wrapped in each other's arms, because they knew that no matter how bad life got, as long as they stayed together, every cloud would have a silver lining.


End file.
